page_title: Olympic Mountains
section_title: Ecology
hierarchical_section_title: Olympic Mountains / Ecology
caption_attribution_description: Acer macrophyllum and Acer circinatum English: Maples in Olympic National Park's Hoh Rain Forest. Photo by Kevin Muckenthaler
context_page_description: The Olympic Mountains are a mountain range on the Olympic Peninsula of the Pacific Northwest of the United States. The mountains, part of the Pacific Coast Ranges, are not especially high – Mount Olympus is the highest at 7,965 ft; however, the eastern slopes rise out of Puget Sound from sea level and the western slopes are separated from the Pacific Ocean by the low-lying 20 to 35 km wide Pacific Ocean coastal plain. The western slopes are the wettest place in the 48 contiguous states. Most of the mountains are protected within the bounds of Olympic National Park and adjoining segments of the Olympic National Forest.
  The mountains are located in western Washington in the United States, spread out across four counties: Clallam, Grays Harbor, Jefferson and Mason. Physiographically, they are a section of the larger Pacific Border province, which is in turn a part of the larger Pacific Mountain System.
context_section_description: The mountains support a variety of different ecosystems, varying by elevation and relative east-west location, which influences the local climate, primarily precipitation.
caption: The Hoh Rainforest supports many trees and epiphytes.
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